


Karmically Close

by misura



Category: Dresden Files - Jim Butcher
Genre: Dreams, Fall Fandom Free For All, M/M, Moving In Together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-06
Updated: 2009-12-06
Packaged: 2017-10-25 00:57:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/269920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>"Reading my mind while I'm waxing poetically about your shoulders is really very rude."</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Karmically Close

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Enigel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enigel/gifts).



The second most important reason that I don't sleep with my wand underneath my pillow is that I like to be able to get at it quickly. You'd be surprised at how long it actually takes your average sleepy wizard to make a blind grab for his wand and get it out with the right side pointing at the enemy. (You probably wouldn't be surprised at the effect throwing a pillow has on your average supernatural nasty, but hey, at least it got me a few extra seconds to realize what a bad idea it had been to put my wand there.)

The first most important reason is that it's just plain uncomfortable.

Of course, waking up to find a vampire has broken through your wards isn't everything either.

 

"You didn't really think I wouldn't notice, did you?"

The good news: it wasn't really a vampire. It was Thomas. Who, admittedly, was a vampire, but also my brother (half-brother, if you want to be precise).

"Honestly, Harry."

The bad news - well. I was sure there was something. I never get only good news. However, the fact that Thomas was mostly naked distracted me somewhat. Less nicely put, it felt like it had melted down my brains - in a rather enjoyable, 'any moment now, I'm going to get a call about a grisly murder' kind of way.

"Notice what?" I asked. Always ready with a smart and witty reply, that's me.

"You want me."

The part of my brains not occupied by gleefully noticing how underdressed Thomas was alerted me to the slight bulge in Thomas's pants. Apparently, he was happy to see me.

"Um," I said.

"And I want you, too."

"You're under some sort of spell, right?" Let me repeat: good things just don't happen to me by themselves. If I meet a nice girl, nine times out of ten, she's a fallen angel in disguise, about to leave town for parts unknown or plain not interested in boring old me.

"You should stop being so paranoid all the time. It's just sex, Harry."

"Just sex? Do you have any idea how long - you're the sex-vampire around here!"

"I'll make it feel good." He reached for the blanket that was all that was between my pajama-clad body and his naked skin. I realized I had to do something quickly, before things got out of hand. Well, more out of hand.

My wand was lying on a small table, just out of reach. I made a grab for it, felt myself slipping ...

... woke up abruptly as I hit the floor. Alone.

Yeah, that was more like the usual state of affairs.

 

It had gotten to the point where I had to remind myself that Thomas was my brother several times a day. Worse: he was my brother who _depended on me to keep him safe_. Perhaps that was pushing it a bit - Thomas hardly was any kind of damsel in distress - but the fact remained that he was relying on me, putting his trust in me. I should feel ashamed of myself for thinking he was sexy. Even if, of course, he was. He couldn't help it.

He was also quite annoying some of the time - like when he forgot that it had been his turn to clean the bathroom, or buy groceries, or to go out and buy Bob something new to read, or when I walked in on one of his 'dates'. He'd gotten better at preventing that last from happening recently, but for the coming three months, I wasn't going to be able to show my face at that nice new bookstore that had opened up two blocks from my apartment.

"You look tired," Thomas noted. "Are you getting enough sleep?"

"I'm fine."

"You know, I really owe you for letting me stay here." Uh-oh.

"Don't mention it. What else is family for?" Lots of backstabbing and the occasional attempt at outright murder, if Thomas's family on his father's side was anything to go by - which it wasn't. He and I both knew that.

"Family's there to take care of each other. So, when was the last time you had a date?"

A part of me was not at all happy with the direction this conversation was headed in. Another (smaller, I assured myself) part helpfully suggested I pinched myself just to make sure I wouldn't be waking up on the floor again in a few seconds. Thomas was fully dressed at the moment and seemed completely content to stay where he was at present, but I knew how fast he could move - and he'd probably had lots of practice getting in and out of his clothes in a hurry without popping any buttons or ripping any seams.

"It's been a while," I admitted. Family should also be honest with each other. Besides, it wasn't as if he didn't know that already.

"You need to get out more, Harry."

The pointed remark that 'forgetting' to do his part of the household chores was probably not the best way to go about helping me do that rose to my lips. There was genuine concern in Thomas's expression though, so I controlled myself. Not doing the chores was just Thomas being Thomas.

"I know."

"Well, as they say, the first part to solving a problem is acknowledging there is one. And it just so happens I'm in a perfect position to help you with actually solving it."

He put down the newspaper and gave me a smile. "How would you like to go on a date tomorrow evening?"

Well. At least he wasn't proposing for us to have sex right then and there in the kitchen.

"You don't need to do anything except show up and be yourself," he went on. "I'll take care of everything else."

"I'm not sure ... " I started.

"Harry. Trust me. This woman is perfect for you."

I managed not to ask what woman he was talking about and when this date had suddenly begun to include a third party. Never let it be said I don't know when not to ask stupid questions.

 

"That's a nice shirt," Thomas's idea of 'the perfect woman for me' said.

"Thomas picked it out for me."

"Oh. Well, it suits you."

"Thanks." _I_ didn't think it suited me, but clearly, my own opinion didn't count. "I'll let him know you liked it. He'll be thrilled."

Murphy grinned. "Family, eh? Admit it, Harry: for all your complaining, you're happy to have found him."

"You make him sound like a puppy. At least Mouse makes himself useful every once in a while. Thomas won't even take out the garbage unless I remind him it's his turn ten times - and then he only does it if he feels like it."

Murphy's grin widened.

"He's not too bad," I admitted grudgingly. "Some of the time. When he's not telling me what to wear."

Our food arrived, which made it hard for me to continue feeling put-upon. It smelled better than anything I'd eaten this year, at the very least.

"Maybe your sense of fashion could use some work, but you've certainly got great taste in restaurants," Murphy told me. Then, seeing the expression on my face, she added: "Oh. Thomas again?"

I nodded, my mouth full of what was definitely the most delicious pasta-with-something-or-another I'd ever had the pleasure of putting in there.

"He means well, Harry."

"I know that," I said, a little defensively. "Look, can we stop talking about my brother now? Didn't you go somewhere doing something last weekend?"

If it hadn't been Murphy, I'd have said her face lit up. Since it was, in fact, Murphy, I'll just say she looked really happy. "Kincaid took me rock-climbing."

"Great." Honestly, if Murphy was happy, then so was I. The whole date had been Thomas's idea, anyway - I'd always known me and Murphy would never be more than friends. Murphy was a good friend - a great friend, even. "That's really great, Murph. I'm happy for you."

 

"I don't suppose you have ever done any rock-climbing?" Thomas asked.

"What do you expect me to do: challenge Kincaid to a rock-climbing contest? With Murphy as a prize? Are you out of your mind?" She'd kick both our asses - and I didn't think Kincaid'd be stupid enough to agree to something like that anyway, even if I'd be enough of an idiot to ask.

"I was just curious."

"They make a nice couple."

"Not the first word that I'd personally use to describe them, but I get what you mean."

It occured to me that Thomas might be feeling a little bad about having tried to set me up with someone who clearly wasn't interesting in being set up.

"Well, I appreciate you trying to get me a date." Being family also meant that sometimes, you lied. "If it's any comfort, she really liked the shirt, and she loved the restaurant."

"That's not really much of a comfort." Thomas slumped on the couch and sighed.

You'd almost think _he_ was the one who'd left home expecting to go on a date only to find out his date had only come as a friend and to share her story of how much she'd enjoyed going rock-climbing last weekend with the guy she _was_ dating.

"I'm going to bed."

"Good night."

 

"Think about it, Harry."

"For some reason, I'm finding it rather difficult to think about anything while I'm in the same room with someone who's not wearing any clothes." I was also having some trouble keeping from looking lower than, say, his shoulders. They were nice shoulders, really. Absolutely. Those shoulders looked like they belonged to someone who knew how to keep in shape without overdoing things.

"I think you're thinking just fine," Thomas said.

"Reading my mind while I'm waxing poetically about your shoulders is really very rude."

"I'm merely being practical. After all, you never tell me these things."

"There's a reason for that."

"It's called 'being in denial', Harry."

"I'm _not_ in denial!" I said. "I'm fully aware that I'm wildly attracted to my wildly attractive half-brother who just happens to be a vampire and living in my apartment for the moment."

"So what's the problem?"

"Well," I told the ceiling of my bedroom, "the fact that this entire conversation is taking place while I'm dreaming might be a part of it."

 

"There must be other women you know and like aside from Murphy," Thomas said.

I supposed that I should be grateful that at least he wasn't trying to set me up with a complete stranger. Still, all things considered, I'd have prefered not to be set up at all. Call it stubborn male pride, if you wish.

"Just because I like someone doesn't mean I want to date them."

"Really? It does for me."

I blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Well, not 'date', perhaps but ... " He made a vague gesture. "You know what I mean."

I did. "I don't believe it." Sure, he was White Court, but ...

"What's wrong with having sex with people you like?" Thomas sounded defensive.

"When you say 'people', you mean 'women', right?"

"Yes, Harry, when I say 'people', what I actually mean is 'women'." He sighed and gave me a look that made me feel like somehow, at some point, I'd lost the moral high ground in this conversation.

"What about love?" Stupid question: I knew damn well what the effect of true love on someone like Thomas was. "I mean, _I_ want to date someone I love, not just someone I like." Rub it in, why don't you, Harry?

Thankfully, Thomas let that one slip. "I know that, and I want to help you."

"Maybe it's just not the right time for me."

"You know, on some days, you really make me want to strangle you," Thomas said.

 

"I know how he feels," Murphy commented, after I'd offered to buy her lunch in exchange for listening to my problems. Of course, she wasn't going to let me pay for her.

"Then maybe you could explain it to me?" I felt oddly insulted at Murphy's implication that she knew and understood Thomas better than I did.

She shrugged. "You give up too easily."

"I do not!" Coming from Murphy, that really stung.

"I don't mean the - well, the big stuff, that's about saving people's lives and keeping them safe. I mean the personal stuff."

"Hey, I'm having lunch with you right now. Doesn't that count?"

"We're friends, Harry. Good friends." It seemed like Thomas really hadn't told her anything about how that dinner was supposed to have been a 'date'. Still, Murphy wasn't stupid. Maybe she'd figured it out and was just pretending that she hadn't, to spare my feelings.

"If there's nobody who gets your blood pumping right now - well, then maybe it's time to go and meet some new people. But if there _is_ someone, then maybe you should take a chance on them feeling the same way, instead of just making assumptions."

"And maybe I'd rather not take a chance on ruining something I'm happy with." I felt just the tiniest bit of hypocrisy as I said it. After all, I'd been happy enough to take a chance with mine and Murphy's friendship, hadn't I?

"It's your choice, Harry. I'm not going to tell you how to run your personal life."

"No, I've already got Thomas for that."

"Of course, if you keep on feeling sorry for yourself, I may decide to offer him some assistance." She grinned at me.

"You're a hard woman, Murph." She raised one eyebrow. "And a good friend. Thanks."

"Any time."

 

"You know, if I've seemed a bit cranky these past weeks, it's because I keep having these sexual fantasies about you in my dreams."

"No crankier than usual," Thomas said. "Oh, and we're still out of coffee."

"I thought you were going to buy some."

He shrugged. "I forgot."

"Right." This wasn't quite the conversation I'd expected to be having. "As usual."

"You want coffee, you can buy it yourself, too."

"Is it," I asked carefully, "usual for people to have sexual fantasies about you?"

He gave me a look. Well, okay, I guess that _had_ been a rather stupid question, considering. It didn't seem to bother him in any way. It rather bothered _me_ , though.

"It's okay, Harry - you've already made it very clear you're not interested. Why do you think I'm so eager for you to find someone else?"

"Er, I don't know?"

"Do you think this is fun for me?" Thomas snapped. "Knowing that you want me and have no intention of ever doing something about it just because you're too narrow-minded?"

"I'm not narrow-minded! I'm a wizard!"

Thomas frowned. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Well, most people don't believe in magic," I explained. "Because they're narrow-minded. So, you see, because I'm a wizard, it's impossible for me to be narrow-minded."

"I bet that explanation sounded a lot better in your head."

He was beginning to look a little amused - at my expense, admittedly, but I'd rather have him amused than annoyed with me. "Yes, actually. But it's still true."

Thomas chuckled and shook his head. "You're really something, Harry. Honestly."

"I do my best."

"Fair warning: if you don't get out of here within the next minute, I might be unable to keep from kissing you and perhaps giving you something better than a fantasy to dream about."

"Oh," I said. "Well, we're all out of coffee, so I guess I should go and buy some, huh?"

 

"You've got to be kidding me," Murphy said.

"What did I do?"

"Poor guy," Kincaid said. His sympathy seemed a bit dubious though, given he also seemed to be trying very hard not to grin. Nice to know someone was finding all of this funny.

"He offered to have sex with you and you went to buy coffee?"

"That's not how it was!" I protested.

"Dresden, please. Are you really this dense? That's _exactly_ how it was."

Murphy nodded and took a sip of her coffee. "And after he tried to set you up on a date with me, too."

Kincaid didn't even blink once. Well. Nice to know he wasn't the jealous type. Although I supposed there wasn't really anything to be jealous _about_.

"Besides, you make it sound as if he was offering to do me a favor."

"Probably got lots of experience. No offense, Dresden, but what have you got to offer, exactly?"

"I have got a great personality," I said.

Kincaid snorted. Murphy shot me a slightly apologetic look - the one that said 'I'm sorry, but I kind of agree with Kincaid'. Great.

"I can cook and clean." If you used the terms loosely. "I've got pets." Once people got over how big he was, Mouse always was a big hit. "I'm not bad-looking." I've been raised to consider it impolite to brag. Besides, next to Thomas, most people look rather plain.

"Wow. That's some impressive skills you've got there."

"So I'm modest, so sue me." Granted, Kincaid probably did have some skills that were truly impressive, and an excellent reason to not want to get him pissed off at me. I was pretty sure that wasn't why Murphy was dating him though. She wasn't that shallow.

"It doesn't matter. The question is: now that Thomas has indicated he's interested, what are you going to do?" Murphy gave me a searching look.

"I don't know!"

"Hopeless," Kincaid said. "What's the big problem? He's interested, and you're interested. You've never tried to kill each other. Seems simple enough to me."

"Harry's a romantic."

Kincaid considered. "Do guys give each other flowers?"

 

"I'm sorry if I was a narrow-minded idiot last night."

Never let it be said I don't know how to phrase a proper apology.

Thomas accepted the flowers with an unreadable expression on his face. "If?"

"Can we just keep it at 'I'm sorry'?"

"Well, you did bring flowers. First time I ever got those."

I managed not to ask what people usually got him.

"So, what does this mean, exactly?" he went on. "Before I get the wrong idea or something."

"Well, I keep having these fantasies about you and uh, I was kind of wondering if maybe there was any chance of making them real."

"I'm sure I'll be happy to try." He gave me an expectant look.

"Thank you?"

"Actually, I was hoping for details. Am I wearing a costume? Are you? Do they involve toys? Handcuffs? Whips? You need to give me something to work with here."

"You're uh naked."

"That, I can definitely do. And?"

"And you say something about wanting to have sex with me, and then I wake up."

"Okay," Thomas said. "Why don't I just improvise?"

"Sounds good," I said.

And it was, too.


End file.
